In the shadow of murder, secrets come to light. Holiday festivities in tiny Anderson, Montana take an unexpected turn when a welfare check becomes a murder investigation. Stone County deputy Tom Edwards discovers the frozen corpses of a local couple bound to chairs at their home in the Moonlight Mountains. The couple's son and daughter-in-law soon go missing, the only clue a puddle of blood. A tragic bus accident and embezzled church funds add suspects and complicate motives. Stone County Sheriff Peter Elliott and his crew are once again faced with more suspects than clues and an increasingly hostile press in their struggle to solve these murders.